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Share-Worthy Real Estate Articles

Written by Posted On Thursday, 02 March 2017 21:08

This year marks my tenth year in real estate and in my 10 years in real estate I never understood the power of real estate blogging until a couple months ago.  Since I’ve discovered this great tool, I have dedicated myself to consistently creating great content that could help my readers. 

My research of real estate bloggers has led me to some really good content. So, I’ve decided that I would periodically highlight the great real estate content I constantly come across.  I think it will benefit other realtors like me that are trying to get into the blogging game.

 Check out these great pieces –

 

Should We Always Trust Zillow’s Home Estimates?

In the last decade, web platforms such as Trulia and Zillow have disrupted the real estate industry.  Zillow has been a great tool for people looking to buy or sell their homes.  Unfortunately, as much as it has been beneficial for online research of homes, it continues to be an area of contention between realtors and home seller/homebuyers. The problem lies in the inability of the platform to consistently provide accurate estimates of homes.  Today’s realtors are faced with constantly disputing the accuracy of Zillow estimates  with their clients.  Imagine informing your clients that their home is $75,000 less than Zillow’s estimated value.

As much as we have seen the rise of algorithms and artificial intelligence in the real estate industry, it is still clear that the job and skillsets of a real estate agent can’t be replaced.  Realtors provide better estimates than systems.

 

Selling Luxury Real Estate

The dream for most real estate agents is the sale of luxury real estate.  A consistent stream of luxury real estate transactions could possibly lead to a change in tax brackets for a realtor.  For realtors looking to target the high-end property market, it is important to understand that it could take a vastly different strategy to sell a luxury home compared to a standard home.  In this article, Bill Gassett discusses marketing strategies for selling luxury homes.

I think it is a good read if you are looking to target this market.  Bill makes a great point that owners of high-end homes have higher expectations than a typical homeowner.  The last thing you want is to get that dream listing and then lose it because you were unprepared to take on the home.

 

Steps to Saving for a Down Payment on a House

I’m a real estate agent in the Washington DC area where the median home price is about $500,000.  The area is also home to a large number of millennials.  Unfortunately, most millennials have a hard time purchasing homes in the area because of the high prices.  I’ve come to realize that millennials could do more when it comes to saving their income and purchasing homes.  Ryan Fitzgerald lays out great steps to save for a down payment on a house.  One of the steps he mentions is creating an automatic savings plan, which I believe is a brilliant plan for millennials. They typically struggle with saving, so an automatic savings plan is a perfect strategy to save money.

This is a great article to share with anyone struggling to save for a house down payment.

 

Pros and Cons of a VA loan

In my opinion, a VA loan is a great program to take advantage of if you are eligible to obtain one.  Unlike conventional and FHA loans, there are no down payment requirements.  This is a huge draw for buyers who can’t afford a down payment on a house or who would prefer to use their funds on other items such as the renovation of a home.  It is also important to understand the drawbacks of using a VA loan.  Kyle Hiscock does a great job highlighting the cons of a VA loan.  One of the cons I’ve witnessed a couple of times is the loss of appeal to home sellers, especially in a hot market.  In a situation where a seller has multiple offers on their home, chances are that the seller will chose a contract from a buyer using a conventional or FHA loan over a VA loan. This is because a seller might see a conventional or FHA buyer as a stronger buyer, because they are putting money down compared to VA loan buyer who might not make a down payment.

 

Final Notes

Hope you are able to read these great articles.  Stay tuned for more great articles. 

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Charles Muotoh

Serving the Northern Virginia and Washington DC areas.

www.dcrealestateguru.com

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